---
title: "NICTS Appointment of a Broker to commission the sale of an arrested shipping vessel"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06eb3c"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06eb3c"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06eb3c.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06eb3c.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS)"
published: "2026-08-25"
---

# NICTS Appointment of a Broker to commission the sale of an arrested shipping vessel

Buyer: Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS)  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06eb3c

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## Summary

Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS) is procuring ship brokerage services to appraise and sell an arrested shipping vessel. The vessel was arrested under a court warrant and has remained berthed in Belfast Harbour. Following court orders for its sale and for the Admiralty Marshal to commission the appraisal and sale, NICTS requires a broker to manage the process. The work covers preparing the vessel for sale, arranging its appraisal and commissioning the sale on behalf of the Admiralty Marshal. The service is delivered in Belfast, with the vessel located in Belfast Harbour. The procuring function is provided by CPD – Supplies & Services Division, Northern Ireland’s central government procurement centre, while NICTS is the buying organisation.

The procurement is complete and was awarded through a direct award as one lot. The selected supplier is recorded as Withheld Section 94 Supplier. The award date is 25 August 2026, with an award value of £175,000 excluding VAT and £210,000 gross. The contract period runs from 7 September 2026 to 31 March 2027. The direct award was justified by extreme and unavoidable urgency, because delay could increase costs payable from the vessel sale, and by the claim that only a particular supplier could provide the service. The supplier is also the appointed provider for mainland Great Britain, with costs set under UK legislation. The procurement was above threshold and is now complete.

This requirement is relevant to specialist shipbrokers and maritime service providers able to appraise and sell arrested or distressed vessels for a public authority. A credible competitor would need practical ship brokerage capability, access to suitable appraisal expertise and the ability to manage a sale under court-directed Admiralty Marshal instructions. Experience of vessels held in port, court or enforcement sales, and the legal and procedural requirements surrounding arrested assets would be important. The procurement also shows that NICTS may require a provider able to mobilise quickly where delay increases costs and where the service depends on a particular supplier’s expertise. Suppliers familiar with regulated fee arrangements and public-sector value-for-money justification would be well placed when this type of requirement returns.

## Notice

The Chief Enforcement Officer, in their capacity as Admiralty Marshal pursuant to Schedule 1, Order 75 of the Rules of the Court of Judicature (Northern Ireland) 1980, executed a Warrant of Arrest against a vessel in May 2026. The vessel has remained berthed in Belfast Harbour since then. An Order for the sale of the vessel was made in July 2026, followed by a further Order in August 2026 directing the Admiralty Marshal to commission the appraisement and sale of the vessel. The authority for the Admiralty Marshal to undertake these functions arises under Order 75. The Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS) is required to appoint a provider to deal with the appraisal and sale.

### Procurement Information

There are direct award justifications provided for under Section 41 and Schedule 5 of the PA 2023 which permit a Contracting Authority to award a public contract to a single supplier where the supplies or services can only be supplied by a particular supplier and the following conditions are met:- Where-- (a) the goods, services or works to be supplied under the public contract are strictly necessary for reasons of extreme and unavoidable urgency, and (b) as a result the public contract cannot be awarded on the basis of a competitive tendering procedure. NICTS has been tasked with sourcing a broker to appraise the vessel ready for sale and delays in appointing the broker will incur will increase the overall costs to the NICTS which are payable from the sale. A competitive tender competition would therefore not be seen as demonstrating best value for money. In addition, it is noted that the supplier is also the appointed provider within GB mainland and their costs are set in UK legislation under Practice Direction 61 of the Civil Procedure Rules. The costs for this provision are exactly as set out in said legislation, therefore demonstrating VFM.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/080714-2026 |
| Notice type | UK5 - Transparency Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 25 Aug 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 25 Aug 2026 |
| Contract period | 7 Sep 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £175,000 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Pending |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS) |
| Locality | BELFAST |
| Postcode area | Northern Ireland |
| Postcode | BT1 3LA |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| ITL 1 | TLN Northern Ireland |
| ITL 2 | TLN0 Northern Ireland |
| ITL 3 | TLN06 Belfast |
| Local authority | Belfast |
| Electoral ward | Central |
| Westminster constituency | Belfast South and Mid Down |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | Withheld Section 94 Supplier |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 63 - Supporting and auxiliary transport services; travel agencies services

### Codes

- 63522000 - Ship brokerage services

## Release History

- 25 Aug 2026 at 10:27 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/080714-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/080714-2026
  25th August 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06eb3c. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06eb3c.json.